The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical interconnect devices for use between opposed arrays of contacts.
Interconnect devices are used to provide electrical connection between two or more opposing arrays of contacts for establishing at least one electrical circuit, where the respective arrays may be provided on a device, printed circuit board, Pin Grid Array (PGA), Land Grid Array (LGA), Ball Grid Array (BGA), and the like. In one interconnect technique, the electrical connection is provided by an interconnect device that is physically interposed between corresponding electrical contacts of the opposing arrays of contacts. However, the electrical connection may be unreliable due to height variations between electrical contacts of the opposing arrays, variations in thickness of a substrate supporting either of the opposing arrays or the conductive elements of the interconnect device, warping of a substrate of either of the opposing arrays, and the like.
At least some known interconnect devices use an array of elastomeric columns supported on a substrate, The elastomeric columns may be compressed to establish reliable contact between the opposing contacts. In some known interconnect devices, the elastomeric columns are conductive and provide the electrical connection. In other known interconnect devices, the elastomeric columns are non-conductive and the electrical connection is provided via a separate contact or trace. The interconnect devices are capable of accommodating size constraints, such as related to the reduced physical size of many electrical devices.
In known interconnect devices using conductive elastomeric columns, the elastomeric columns are held together by a center supporting substrate. During manufacture, an array of holes is drilled through the center supporting substrate and the elastomeric columns are molded or cast in place in the holes. The center supporting substrate supports each of the elastomeric columns and holds the relative positions of the elastomeric columns, However, as the density of the interconnect devices increases, the pitch between the elastomeric columns decreases. Forming the holes on the supporting substrate at the desired pitches has become problematic,
A need remains for an electrical interconnect device that arranges the elastomeric columns on tight pitches.